Description
 The little glassywing has a wingspan of 1 to 1.25 inches. It has dark brown wings with white patches. It has an especially distinctive middle spot on its forewings. In females, this spot is slightly square and translucent. This is where the name glassywing comes from! In the male, the center patch is long and slanted. The male has a black stigma on his forewings. The stigma is a section of scent cells located on the forewings of the males of some species of butterflies. The undersides of its wings are a dark brown, sometimes with a few dull spots.
Range
 In North America, the little glassywing is found
from Minnesota east to southern Ontario, Canada and south to Texas and Florida. The little glassywing is found in New Hampshire.
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Habitat
The little glassywing is found in moist meadows, bogs, fields, and gardens.
Diet
The little glassywing caterpillar eats
purpletop. The adult little glassywing eats
nectar from purple, pink, and white flowers including
dogbane, selfheal, peppermint, joe-pye weed
common milkweed and swamp milkweed.
Lifecycle
The female little glassywing lays eggs on the leaves of a host plant. The
larvae binds together leaves from the host plant with silk to make a shelter. In the northern part of its range it has one brood a year. In the southern part of its range it has two broods. |
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